Mayday film explores Cold War themes

The film ‘Mayday’, directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, is set to stream on AppleTV on September 4, 2026. Produced by Skydance Media and Maximum Effort, the story serves as a subversion of 1980s patriotic propaganda.

Set in 1987, the plot follows U.S.A.F. pilot Lieutenant Troy ‘Assassin’ Kelly, played by Ryan Reynolds, who is forced to eject from his SR-71 Blackbird after a mid-air collision with a Soviet MiG-29. He is rescued by Nikolai ‘Nick’ Ustinov, a former KGB agent turned hermit played by Kenneth Branagh. As the two navigate the Russian wilderness, the film explores how ideological barriers are often constructed by governments rather than inherent differences between people.